North Carolina Central has been selected to compete in the 2024 NCAA FCS Playoffs after a successful season. Their selection was revealed on ESPNU's FCS Football Selection Show which was broadcast on Sunday afternoon. North Carolina Central will face Richmond in the first round.

North Carolina Central entered the season as the reigning Celebration Bowl champions, beating the Deion Sanders-led Jackson State Tigers in a 41-34 overtime classic. The Eagles notched impressive out-of-conference wins over CAA opponents Campbell and top FCS team Elon. They also notched a victory over rival North Carolina A&T in the early weeks of the season, now a CAA competitor after moving from the Big South.

Following a bye week, the Eagles continued their run of dominance. They escaped a 16-10 defensive battle against Morgan State then rolled South Carolina State 62-28 a week later. All signs pointed to North Carolina Central heading back to the Celebration Bowl, especially after they notched a victory over Norfolk State 38-24. But, then they ran into the Howard Bison. The Bison finished the season as co-champions with North Carolina Central, both finishing with a 4-1 record. However, North Carolina Central went on to beat Howard 50-21 en route to Atlanta.

However, Howard flipped the script and beat the Eagles 50-20. The resounding victory over their MEAC foes put Howard University in the driver's seat to make the Celebration Bowl and be the outright MEAC Champions for the first time since their undefeated season in 1993.

NCCU's Celebration Bowl hopes were over once Howard beat Morgan State on Saturday. However, a record-setting day that saw the Eagles beat Delaware State 55-14 put them in contention and sealed their selection for the NCAA FCS Playoffs. Now, they're set to face Richmond as they hope to make a voyage to the NCAA FCS Championship in January.

North Carolina Central could go perfect vs. the CAA

North Carolina Central has a tremendous opportunity to advance if they find a way to beat a red-hot Richmond Spiders squad out of the CAA. Richmond is a familiar football brand to HBCU football fans for many reasons.

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Morgan State started the season by beating Richmond in a 17-10 defensive battle. After beating Delaware State 38-6, they faced another loss to CAA-comepting HBCU Hampton University 31-14.

However, following their loss to Hampton, they started to right the ship. They beat North Carolina A&T amid their six-game winning streak to close out the season and clinch the NCAA FCS at-large playoff bid.

Although Richmond has improved tremendously since their Morgan State and Hampton losses, they allow 21 points per game and 227 passing yards per game. Their run defense is stout, only allowing 115 yards per game.

However, North Carolina Central presents a unique threat with the dynamic talent of Davius Richard. He's proven that he can both pass and run the ball and keeps the defense on their toes with his decision-making.

Another key player is Latrell “Mookie” Collier, a big-time playmaker for the Eagles. He averages 62.2 rushing yards per game and has rushed for 684 yards this season on 146 attempts. Richmond is adept in stopping the run but attempting to stop both Richard and Collier will prove to be a tall task.

North Carolina Central and Richmond will face off on November 25th at 2 PM EST. They will battle to get earn the right to face the fith-seeded University of Albany, another CAA squad.